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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25140037">When Sun and Snow Were Trapped Below</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouHaveNoPowerOverMe/pseuds/YouHaveNoPowerOverMe'>YouHaveNoPowerOverMe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Frozen (Disney Movies), Labyrinth (1986), Rise of the Guardians (2012)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Frozen AU, Labyrinth AU, he controls the labyrinth just as jareth does, in which elsa did hit anna with magic but not fatally like in the movie, pitch also has more powers in this since he kinda has to, rise of the brave tangled frozen dragons, so the dynamic is a bit different, villain x heroine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:02:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,758</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25140037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouHaveNoPowerOverMe/pseuds/YouHaveNoPowerOverMe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Nightmare King spirits Elsa away, granting Anna's accidental wish for her favorite story to come true. She must solve his labyrinth to get her back. Pitch has no intentions of this, though, and the princess gets more than she bargained for. Anna must find her own strength within. Elsa must learn to reach out. Pitch must learn both are forces to be reckoned with. Pitchanna Labyrinth AU.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anna (Disney)/Pitch Black (Guardians of Childhood)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Black Heart Works</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Wishes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Nightmare City to take back the child you have stolen, for my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great…”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Elsa was standing near a patch of poppies in the royal garden, the red flowers offering a stark contrast against the girl’s winter coloring. She took a deep breath after impressively managing that whole speech in a single go, but didn’t continue. She looked off to the side, lost in space, her nose scrunched up as she was thinking.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her little sister was watching her expectantly. “Well? What’s the matter?” They had played this so many times. Elsa was very good at doing these long scenes and it was fun to watch her, sometimes so much that Anna forgot when it was her turn to say her lines.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“My will is as strong as yours… and my kingdom as great…” She made a frustrated noise. “I can never remember that line. Will you give me the book?”</em>
</p><p><em>Anna was clutching a red tome called </em>The Labyrinth and Other Stories<em>, and handed it over. She wasn’t yet on Elsa’s reading level, and so usually knew when it was her character’s turn to speak by looking at the pictures (she memorized most of the lines from hearing Elsa, Mama, or Papa read it aloud so often), but surrendered it cheerfully. She loved this part of the story.</em></p><p>
  <em>“’You have no power over me,’” the eight-year-old finished triumphantly.</em>
</p><p><em>A shiver went down Anna’s spine as she heard the line, despite the heat of the spring day. They had played the story of </em>The Labyrinth<em> at Anna’s request, and she requested it often. Elsa enjoyed it, but she preferred lighter stories with fairies, nature spirits, and enchanted forests. Anna liked all that too, but she also liked a little more adventure to her stories- chase scenes, riddles, sword fights. And love. You could never go wrong with a good kiss between the princess and her knight. Elsa was less keen on the kissing.</em></p><p>
  <em>Anna went back a few pages. “I want to be the Bright Maiden next. Let’s do the ballroom part again!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t want to do it again, Anna,” Elsa sighed, looking a bit winded after all the speaking parts she had just done. “Can’t we just do the rest of the story?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hmmmph,” Anna stuck her lower lip out. “I like the parts where she and the King show they like each other best.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“That’s what I don’t get about the story,” Elsa admitted, sitting down on the grass daintily. Anna followed suit, adding more grass stains to the collection already on her knees. “Why can’t that old King leave her alone? I don’t know why he wants her around so bad. He’s magic and scary, and she’s a normal girl.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Anna studied the illustration. On the upper left half, the King stood with his golden crown and coat of shadows trailing behind him, attentively looking down on a young woman with flowers wound into her hair exploring a maze, which was on the lower right half. “He’s lonely?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her sister shrugged. “I guess so. But he deserves it, don’t you think? He sends his monsters after people.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Anna considered that for a minute. “Well, maybe if someone was nice to him he would be nice, too. Is that why he wants the maiden?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Maybe. But I don’t feel sorry for him, do you? I feel sorry for the maiden. She marries him!”</em>
</p><p><em>“But she loved him.” Anna pointed at the drawing of the two on the last page, holding hands under the stars. “The book says so. Maybe he </em>is<em> nice, if she wanted to marry him.”</em></p><p>
  <em>“Do you like him, too, Anna?” Elsa wrinkled her nose, but she said it with a smile.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“No.” The younger princess blushed. She didn’t, really, but she had a lot of pride at the mature age of five and even a little teasing got to her easily. And besides, she didn’t truly think the Nightmare King was that scary, or ugly, or mean like her sister did. He was fearsome, certainly, with his army of monsters and his magic tricks, but he never harmed the young woman. He even looked sort of dashing in the pictures like the knights and kings she admired in the castle paintings.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Secretly, Anna would have very much liked to play the pretty heroine who defeated the frightening King with her love and strength, but she knew Elsa disliked him, so she let Elsa be the Bright Maiden most of the time to get her to play the game. She hoped she would show her that she didn’t have a crush on that monster king.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Your Highnesses! Your mother says it’s time to come in! Supper will be ready soon.” Gerda’s voice rang out from the garden entrance, saving Anna from having to explain why she liked the Nightmare King. Because truthfully, she didn’t know. But the Bright Maiden loved him in spite of his fierceness, and Anna felt there must be a reason for it. They saw something in each other that they both yearned for.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Elsa took Anna’s tiny hand in her own, and the two raced to the door. The sooner they finished supper, the more time they would have to play before bedtime. Anna’s short legs struggled to keep up with her older sister’s. She nearly brought herself and Elsa down on the grass, which set them both to giggles. By the time they got to the garden door Gerda was holding open for them, the two little figures in green and purple dresses were red-faced from exertion and laughter.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Romantic love was wonderful in Anna’s eyes. When she saw it in the way her father looked at her mother as they watched the sunset together sometimes, it looked beautiful to her. She hoped to have it one day when she was big enough. But in a moment like this, she wasn't certain anything else could bring as much gladness as making her sister laugh herself silly on a sunlit spring day.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>----</strong>
</p><p>“Elsa, please. <em>Please</em>. I can’t live like this anymore!”</p><p>“Then leave.”</p><p>Anna gave a soft gasp at the cold answer. Elsa turned on her heel and walked away, slightly hunched over. From anger or embarrassment, Anna didn’t know.</p><p>A hot feeling of pent-up fury and hurt shot through her heart. Years of feeling abandoned, years of being locked away, years of nobody trusting her around Elsa after the accident— it all pushed through and she was about to let it loose. Queen or not, Elsa wasn’t going to get away without giving Anna an apology, without <em>something</em>, even if it meant confronting her in front of everyone—</p><p>"What did I ever do to you?" Anna cried. She knew Elsa’s emotions and her powers were woven together, but at the moment, all rational thought fled as the pain in her chest nearly split her in two.</p><p>"<em>Enough</em>, Anna," Elsa half ordered, half pleaded. The guests were silent as a graveyard, watching the girls intently.</p><p>"No." Any restraint Anna had before during previous encounters with her sister, she didn't bother to use now as she followed Elsa, still clutching the blue glove she’d grabbed by accident, having been yanked off her sister’s hand. "Why? Why do you shut me out?! Why don't you trust me?! Why did you keep me locked up with you all these years?!"</p><p>"I said,<em> enough!"</em> And without even a glance at Anna, the queen slid through the door and quietly disappeared. Only a few snowflakes flitted down to the ground in her wake, not noticeable enough for the others to see, apparently.</p><p>Anna wanted to chase after her, but hesitated. Elsa had left her duty of overseeing the party, but Anna didn't want to make the guests think even more poorly of them than they probably did now by leaving them unattended, too. Seeing her distress and confusion, Hans quickly came over to soothe her. He offered to calm the other dignitaries and royals down for her while she went after Elsa. Though tempted to accept, she declined, deciding Elsa deserved some time alone to relax. Maybe she would be easier to talk to by then. Maybe Anna herself would be easier to talk to after calming down, too.</p><p>A sense of shame grew in her over her outburst, as well as worry over Elsa. Was she mad? Would she ever speak to Anna again? <em>Maybe that's not such a bad thing, </em>suggested a petulant voice in the back of her mind. <em>She’s always wanted to be left alone, after all. Who's to say </em>I<em> want to speak to </em>her<em> again, anyway, after how she’s treated me?</em></p><p>The anger, the heartbrokenness, all the feelings left her too muddled to sort through now, so Anna went back to doing what she always did: pushed them away to keep on a positive face for others. The party needed wrapped up and she welcomed the distraction.</p><p>----</p><p>Anna had apologized to them all, speaking on Elsa's behalf, and with the help of the royal handler, the people seen off and escorted by their own servants to their guest rooms in the castle or their own ships. Hans supported her through it all as she sadly watched the servants clear up the place and the guests leave.</p><p>By the twentieth or so farewell she made, her mind went back to Elsa. Should she go make up with her when this was over? She felt some guilt over pushing her sister, but she also wanted an apology herself. And if years of shut doors and silent, rare holiday meals together had taught her anything about Elsa, she wasn't going to get one.</p><p>But still. She wouldn't know till she asked. The nobles were gone at last, the ballroom was about done being tidied up, and by the look on Hans' face he was beginning to tire. Anna felt the same; she was slowing down from fatigue, and not just from needing sleep.</p><p>The prince walked her up the stairs to her bedroom, and stopped outside her door to kiss her hand. "You’ll feel better by tomorrow, Anna. I promise. It wasn't your fault things got carried away.”</p><p>She couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness. "Thank you. It is, though. My fault, I mean. Well, it’s not just me, I know, Elsa—yeah, I know. Thank you.”</p><p>"I'm glad," he smiled back. "You deserve love, Anna. Don't forget that."</p><p>She and Hans exchanged warm good-nights, and he walked away, giving her a parting wistful look while he turned the corner. Anna went into her own room, relieved to finally get to sink into her feather bed to forget the awful scene at least till morning, and was about to shut the door when she heard another open outside. The one closest to her room. <em>Elsa</em>.</p><p>Anna darted back into the hall to catch her sister, but saw only Gerda, probably having just checked up on Her Majesty to see that she was feeling all right, or all settled in. Anna felt a little wounded. Not a single person but Hans had wanted to know how <em>she</em> was feeling. Everyone leaving had been abuzz with what was wrong with the queen. Well, some had given <em>her</em> odd looks too, probably sensing Anna was a troublemaker.</p><p>Oh, well. Gerda wasn’t wrong to do her job. Anna called her over, and the older woman, though startled, trotted over to the princess.</p><p>“Your Highness,” the maid greeted her. “How are you, dear? Will you be needing anything?”</p><p>“I’ll be fine, Gerda,” Anna lied, but was comforted by her servant’s care. “Thank you. Is the ballroom taken care of?”</p><p>“Nearly, Your Highness. And Kai has seen to it that no one is to come questioning you or the queen. We’ve said you young ladies are tired from the party and need your rest.”</p><p>“Thank you, Gerda.” She hesitated. “But, um… Has Elsa said anything?”</p><p>It was the other woman’s turn to pause. “Queen Elsa went straight to her room and only asked us to see that everything is cleaned up and the nobles made comfortable, Your Highness. I was just seeing to her, and—she’s not to be disturbed now, or tomorrow.”</p><p><em>Well, that was silly to ask,</em> Anna chided herself. She wasn’t surprised, but that didn’t make it sting less. <em>She must really hate me now</em>. More and more she was regretting putting Elsa on the spot like that, and even feared their relationship was over for good now. But a sliver of her heart was still angry at what Elsa had said, too.</p><p>She said good night to Gerda and headed back to her own room. She hadn’t meant to push Elsa so far, but why wouldn’t she just let her in? Why wasn’t Anna good enough?</p><p>And Hans. He had been the perfect gentleman, but she didn’t even know if he would still be here by morning. Most of the other royals and politicians would be leaving. Perhaps he didn’t want to get involved in any of their family drama. Maybe he’d leave along with dozens of the other royalty tomorrow. She couldn’t blame him. <em>That fight with her had been for nothing.</em> Her first real party, her first romance, her first real success at getting Elsa to truly open up… and the day had gone up in smoke. How could it all have started so magically and ended so badly?</p><p>Unable to hold back her tears any longer, they freely cascaded down her freckled cheeks as she gave her doors a dramatic shut behind her. She changed out of the stunning dress and shook out the hairstyle she’d done up so carefully (having been long used to dressing and styling herself once Father had cut down on the staff) before flopping down on her bed, finally indulging her need for a good cry. An ugly sob escaped. She knew she wasn’t being a proper princess now, but she didn’t care. She missed Elsa. She missed her parents. All three had left scars on her heart from keeping her away, and if she were honest, she was a little resentful sometimes, but she wanted them all back more than anything. She loved Gerda and Kai, but she so much missed having her <em>family</em> around. Her parents were dead, Elsa did not want her, and Anna had never felt so alone in her life.</p><p>For how long she cried, she couldn’t say. It could have been hours or fifteen minutes. When her sister had stormed out of the party it had been after ten. She observed the sky was ink black with an occasional lightning strike. Black and thunderous like her mood. Anna was normally very upbeat and had never gave in to negative feelings until today. Now she welcomed the embrace of the dark, letting it wrap around her comfortably.</p><p>Being still was making her restless. Anna would only feel worse and worse if she didn’t occupy herself somehow, so she did the only thing that ever brought her comfort, made her feel like she was less alone once Elsa shut her out, her parents had busied themselves with her sister’s powers, and she’d became an orphan.</p><p>So Anna put her slippers on and found herself tiptoeing down the hall with a burning candle, unable to resist a glance at the door with purple rosemaling on it. She thought she heard faint crying and the guilty feeling returned. Ignoring the instinct to knock, she kept on her way. She needed her own self-care now, anyway.</p><p>--</p><p>The doors to the library were heavy, and they gave a loud groan when Anna pushed them open. She hurriedly slipped in and shut them as quietly as possible, hoping she didn’t wake anyone. It wasn’t as if she weren’t allowed in here, but she was hoping for some privacy.</p><p>Anna had a good number of favorite books she had read and re-read dozens of times in the loneliest, most boring parts of her involuntary solitude. Reading about other people’s adventures and romances was as close as she would ever be to having her own, she figured. Even if she hadn’t brought a candle to see, her feet knew exactly which aisle to go down, having sought this particular book so many times. The red spine stuck out where it always did, like an old friend waiting for her to find it. It was somewhat shabby, as if many other hands had lovingly picked it up to read over the years as well, and the title was faint, but still read <em>The Labyrinth and Other Stories</em>.</p><p>Their parents had read it to them sometimes, or Elsa would read it to Anna. It was a dozen or so lesser known fairy tales with no author name on the book. It held particular significance to Anna because it was a favorite amusement of them to act out stories they liked, and the last time they had acted one from the book out, it had been the night of the accident.</p><p>Anna had pulled her big sister out of bed to go make a snowman in the ballroom (not that Elsa had needed her arm twisted for a chance to show off for Anna). When they were done, the younger girl had gotten hyped up, jumping from snow mound to snow mound as Elsa made them for her to land on. Anna got distracted for a moment and slipped. Elsa had tried to catch her with the snow, missed, and hit Anna on the arm instead. It had hurt, hurt badly, and once Elsa had called for their parents for help, the family rushed her out of the kingdom to find someone to heal her. Anna had hazy memories of seeing trolls wearing mossy capes and crystals exchanging words with her parents as she laid in pain in her mother’s arms, but she thought the trolls must have used magic to make her sleep, for that was all she really recalled.</p><p>She was bedridden for what then felt like a decade to give the magically inflicted wound time to mend, and Elsa visited only once that Anna could tell, when the medicine they’d fed her had made her sleepy all the time. That separation had almost as much agony for her as the hurt arm had been. She assumed Elsa was mad at her for getting them both in trouble and hated herself for it, but when they saw each other at family dinners, her sister never <em>seemed</em> mad. But she refused to play anymore, barely said hello in the hallway as she avoided meeting eyes, never talked to her more than she had to at family dinners. Whenever Anna had tried to ask what she was ignoring her, the older girl just looked ahead more determinedly. She stayed in her room studying all day, only coming out for meals or for solemnly celebrating holidays in the parlor or listening to services at the little chapel in quiet contemplation. Anna sometimes found her perusing the library or having her music lessons in another room, but was too daunted by the oppressive silence that continually surrounded Elsa to even wave.</p><p>The cherry on top was neither girl was allowed out of the castle now. Elsa’s power had gotten too strong, at least for the time being, and it needed to be hidden until she gained more control over it. Their mother Iduna had spent as much time with Anna as she could when not helping the young heir control her powers with their father, trying to explain to Anna that Elsa needed lots of time alone to focus. Anna wondered now if maybe Elsa had been feeling a little guilt about it, too.</p><p>Well, there she went feeling mopey all over again when the whole point of coming here had been to cheer herself up. Maybe if nothing else, her the story would dredge up some better memories. She snuck out of the library to head back to bed, juggling the candle in one hand and the book in another, trying to flip to the right page with only her thumb and watch where she was going at the same time.</p><p>Ah. The illustration of the bright-haired, beautiful maiden in the magical gown fashioned out of the night sky itself caught her eye, and she became engrossed.</p><p>The Bright Maiden was so because the sun had chosen to bless her at birth, and so light shone ever through her beauty and her soul. The girl’s brilliance caught the sharp eye of the Nightmare King, the lonely, pale creature from the underground kingdom, where he longed for her to visit. He would not take her unwillingly, for despite his outward appearance he was no monster, but instead devised a way to lure the girl (for after all, he was still born of the darkness and had a sly nature).</p><p>Nestled cozily at her window seat with her candle, she read for a short while, till she got to another favorite part.</p><p>“’But what no one knew was that the Nightmare King had fallen in love with the girl, and he’d given her certain powers,” Anna murmured aloud, the mesmerizing effect of fairy tales taking hold of her as it always did. “So one night, when the stepsister had been particularly cruel to her, she called on fearlings of the Nightmare King for help.</p><p>"Say your right words, 'the fearlings said, and we'll take the girl to the castle, and you will be free!' But the maiden knew, that the Nightmare King would keep the stepsister in his castle for ever and ever and ever, and turn her into a fearling. And so the girl suffered in silence.”</p><p>Anna paused. She couldn’t help but relate the story to her own family dynamic and her own miserable situation. But she continued, “…Until one day, when she was tired from a day of housework, and she was hurt by the harsh words of her stepfamily, and she could no longer stand it…”</p><p>That had been the major flaw of the Bright Maiden. Kind she might be, she was headstrong and prone to thinking with her heart more than her head. Anna loved her for it. She liked the idealized princesses too, but those were more like Elsa.</p><p><em>Elsa</em>. Could she do as the Bright Maiden did and wish away her own family? She bit her lip. She was looking too deeply into the story, probably because of her own rattled state. She didn’t want Elsa to go away forever, but she wished more than anything that she could leave. Not even permanently; she just wanted out of the suffocating castle. Elsa could be free to practice her magic more without hurting Anna again. She needed warmth. She needed freedom and open spaces and love. Love above all else. She didn’t like to be pessimistic, but Elsa’s public refusal to talk and running away had been the final nail in the coffin, and the fact that she would never have any of that at home was a painful one Anna could no longer pretend wasn’t true.</p><p>“I wish I could leave.” She whispered. “I wish the story was real.” At eighteen, she knew she was too old to believe in fairy tales, but stories couldn’t harm you. Not like life. They had trials, but they always turned out well. The heroes always found love in the end. You were always left with joy when you closed the book.</p><p>Looking down forlornly at the page, she said, “I wish it would all really happen.” The words sounded childish to her own ears, but she wanted so much to have hope and believe in magic, that she would find love and adventure like the maiden had. Was that asking for too much? She was starting to think so.</p><p>Without thinking, Anna closed the book and set it down, getting up to walk over to her door. Gerda had said Elsa didn’t want to talk to anyone. But it wasn’t good to just shut yourself up every time there was conflict. Or for <em>years on end,</em> for that matter. Anna’s fingers twitched, longing for a wooden door to knock upon as they had done for so long as a child. Maybe… maybe she could just give Elsa a quick apology if she didn’t feel like opening the door. Her sister could apologize back or not, but Anna could sleep with a good conscience knowing she had shown repentance for her mistake. At least she could say she tried.</p><p>She left her room a second time, pulse picking up. The familiar anxiety bubbled up, as it always had in her younger days when she’d risked her sister’s confusing rejection. But it went away as quickly as it had come, replaced by several other emotions; confusion most of all. Because in front of Anna where she stood rooted to the ground was Elsa’s purple-decorated door where it always was. Open. In all thirteen years ofthe girls’ isolation, never once had Elsa kept her door open.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope Anna doesn't seem uncharacteristically bitter, but I think if the movies hadn't done her so dirty, she WOULD feel more anger towards her parents and sister, and it would be completely justified. The movies really don't seem to want to explore Anna's trauma and potential resentment she could feel over the huge lies and secrets and unwanted solitude, so I enjoy doing it in my own works. (Side note, this was the very first fanfic I've officially started. Over a year ago!! I'm finally working to finish it! 😂)</p><p>Also, I hope the explanation of how differently this world works where Anna's accident it different makes sense. And I hope the chapter isn't too long to get through!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Too Late</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>No soft weeping. An unnatural silence filled the air and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The sadness and bewilderment she’d previously felt were immediately replaced by unease. She stepped through the threshold.</p><p>With no candles or lamps lit and only the moon peeking through the curtains, strange shadowy shapes thrown all over the floor.</p><p>“Elsa...?” Anna walked into the room with uncertainty. “Are you all right? I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier.”</p><p>She stepped toward the bed with the blankets crumpled up. Her sister had always kept her bed so tidy even as a child. “Elsa? Are you okay?”</p><p>She suddenly realized what was wrong: the room was at a normal room temperature. Anna had never known a time when a room occupied by Elsa wasn’t chilly, and yet the air here was comfortable. Then something <em>else</em> made her stop in her tracks.</p><p>
  <em>Someone else was in the room. </em>
</p><p>She almost had made it to the bed when she grasped this. How she knew, she couldn’t say, but she felt another presence near that did not feel like her sister’s. Every instinct screamed at her to get away, but her feet had turned to stone and would not move.</p><p>There was a long pause, with no noise but the rainstorm outside. Yet the silence was almost tangible. Anna was afraid to move, but she <em>had</em> to know. She edged gingerly over to the bed. Impulsively, desperately hoping she was wrong and Elsa was safe, she reached down to grab the duvet and yanked it back.</p><p>It was empty, and Anna’s heart dropped to her stomach violently.</p><p>A flash of lightning lit the room and deafening crack of thunder filled the air… then there was only a silence louder than the storm had been. She stood still, eyes darting around the room trying to make out a shape of some monster waiting to grab her.</p><p>Another blinding flash lit up the room, and she shrieked. For one instant she saw dozens of hideous faces with blank eyes staring at her, only to hide from the light as the thunder made another <em>CRACK!</em> Had they truly been there, or did she imagine it?</p><p>The storm was picking up, howling outside in fury, and that was when she noticed a hand was resting on the edge of the bed. Coming out from <em>under</em> it. Someone had been in here with her the whole time. This time Anna couldn’t make a sound. She couldn’t think. Attached to the thin, pale hand was a long shadow that slithered silently and slowly out from under Elsa’s bed and moved up the wall, blacker than even the darkness around it. There was no body casting the shadow. Doom overwhelmed her as it rose, and she felt as though she might faint. She would have welcomed the escape of oblivion.</p><p>No. The shadow <em>was </em>a body. Two luminous golden eyes appeared out of the darkness towering above, staring down into her own. This time she screamed.</p><p>A narrow face with sharp teeth appeared in the moonlight that struggled to get past the thunderclouds, and the mouth on it curved upwards. She thought she heard a quiet snicker, but it—he? — made no move toward her.</p><p>There was a brief lull. <em>He’s not attacking me</em>. Scarcely able to form the words as she tried to squelch her fear, she managed to ask breathlessly, “…Who are you?”</p><p>“You don’t know, Anna?” The man asked gently. “I’m a little hurt.” His was a smooth, honeyed voice Anna might have found lovely if she’d not been scared out of her wits just before.</p><p>Terror beginning to ebb but still wary, she examined him closely. With her eyes better adjusted to the dark, she could see he wore a coat of black that meshed with the surrounding shadows and had no undershirt, with skin that was smoky grey, unlike anything human. She could see his long, lean silhouette and familiarity gradually dawned on her. The shadowy coat, the height, the glowing gaze…</p><p>Her eyes grew large with recognition.</p><p>“You’re him, aren’t you?” Anna had meant to sound bold, but her voice came out in an awed whisper. She cleared her throat and said a little more loudly: “You’re the Nightmare King.” He was no fairy tale, standing solid before her and matching the book’s illustrations almost perfectly. The high cheekbones and golden eyes were not unpleasant to look at.</p><p>“Pitch Black,” the grey man replied, giving a low, refined bow to her. The etiquette instilled in her from a young age made her automatically want to curtsy back, but she was too dazed to move. “Humans who believe has given me a plethora of names, but yes, that’s one of them.”</p><p>She was about to ask how he knew hers, till he continued: “And you, Your Highness, are free. I’ve saved you from the fetters confining you to a cold and loveless life.” If not for the pointed teeth and the horror behind his words, she would have thought his smile looked kind.</p><p>“…<em>You</em> took Elsa?” Her breath froze in her throat.</p><p>“Isn’t it<em> her </em>fault you’re so unhappy?” Was his matter-of-fact retort.</p><p>For a second Anna couldn’t answer, stunned to hear for the first time anyone blame Elsa for their living situation. And a little unsure about how she <em>did</em> feel.</p><p>Finally, she said, “Well… I don’t <em>want</em> to be unhappy, nobody does, but I’m fine with being… fettered. I’d rather have Elsa back, please, if it’s all the same.” She tried to return his smile.</p><p>“You wished for that fairy tale to come true, and I obliged.”</p><p>“I didn’t know it was all real! I didn’t <em>know</em> you would take her.” It was hard not to squirm under his leering.</p><p>“You didn’t? I thought it was your favorite story, Anna.” He picked up the book from her window seat and flipped through it. Stopping at a page, he pretended to read it dramatically. “The selfish maiden wishes for her stepsister to be taken away so she might be happy. The King of Nightmares, gracious soul that he is, grants her wish and takes the wicked little girl.” He snapped the book shut and set it down, giving her a sardonic smile. "Of course, the queen is no child, but close enough."</p><p>“But…”</p><p>“Words and faith can wield so much power, Anna. Did none of your stories teach you that?”</p><p>Tears pricked her eyes again. He seemed to know things about her uncomfortably well. She willed not to spill in front of this stranger, and asked, “Please… where is she?”</p><p>Pitch chuckled. “I think you know very well where she is.”</p><p>Anna felt like a child, small and confused and terrified at what she had unwittingly done. “Please, just bring her back. Please!”</p><p>Her tearful face must have moved the King of Nightmares, for she thought his expression softened slightly as he edged closer. “Anna… Go back to your room. Read your books and dream of your charming princes. That’s your real life. Forget about your sister.”</p><p>“I can’t.”</p><p>The golden eyes met hers intensely, studying her. Then with a flourish, he produced a black glass sphere in his hand from out of nowhere and abruptly changed the subject. “I’ve brought you a gift.”</p><p>Anna did not trust him, amiable though he might behave towards her. “What is it?”</p><p>“Just a crystal, spun from black sand. Nothing more. Except that when you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams.” Spinning the delicate thing around his fingers with ethereal grace, Pitch watching her amazed expression slyly. She felt herself getting pulled in.</p><p>“But…” The long fingers curled around the crystal and withdrew it. “This is no ordinary gift for an ordinary girl, who squabbles with her sister.”</p><p>She bit her lip.</p><p>His asked in a husky voice, “Do you want it, Anna?” He held it out to her.</p><p>She couldn’t answer. The sphere had her under its enchantment, and she noticed small ribbons of sand were twirling around it like its own little atmosphere. <em>See my own dreams</em>. How could she say no? He was offering her the life she had always wanted, an escape. With uncertainty, she reached out for it.</p><p>“Then forget your sister,” he told her grimly.</p><p>Anna’s widened eyes couldn’t look away from the lovely thing, considering it as it glowed. It was an enticing offer. She had felt the pain of solitude for so long, it almost physically ached. The very man from her favorite story was standing here telling her he understood that pain, her hopes, and her desires. No one had ever given her that, not since Elsa began shunning her. Even her parents hadn’t. Only Hans had, and it broke her that she would likely never see him again. Pitch Black cared and understood her heart’s deepest wishes more than anyone had. All she had to do was let go of Elsa, to stop wishing for a door permanently shut in her face by an uncaring sister to suddenly open.</p><p>But… she remembered their good times, how bright and happy her sister had been as a child. How wounded she had looked at the party. It cut her deeply that Elsa might never want to reconnect, but it wouldn’t be right to trade her freedom for Anna’s dreams. Her hand lowered.</p><p>“I’m sorry. I can’t. What you’re doing for me is very kind and I do appreciate it… but I need my sister back. She must be so scared.” She felt a tear roll down her cheek.</p><p>For a moment she thought she glimpsed the faintest look of disquiet in the Nightmare King’s face as she rejected his offer. It was unfathomable to Anna to think she had a chance of having the upper hand over this creature, but when she caught that look, it gave her confidence a little boost.</p><p>But then the moment was over, and lofty expression was back on his face.</p><p>“Anna…” The brilliant eyes met hers warningly. With a flick of the wrist, he tossed the sphere at her. “Don’t defy me.” Infinite blackness filled her vision, but there was no impact; she felt nothing but the faint touch of spidery hands caressing her hair or wrapping around her neck.</p><p>She yelped in disgust, trembling under the frigid, inhuman touch. She batted at the shadowy creatures, whatever they were, and they dove away, receding back into the corners of the bedroom while others she hadn’t even known were there slithered out. She could only see their blank white eyes, never blinking, and heard bold sniggers from all over the room as she drew in ragged breaths.</p><p>“You’re no match for me, Anna.” Pitch’s voice was still silky, but tinted with aggravation. “Forget the queen and take my gift. I don’t make offers a second time.”</p><p>“I can’t.” Her heart was still pounding, but this time her voice was strong. “Don’t you see that? I have to have my sister back and our kingdom needs her. I <em>can’t</em>.” She repeated, as much for her own benefit as his.</p><p>“What a pity.” His jaw tensed at her defiance, but rather than try to frighten her further, he simply pointed to her window told and her, “She’s there, in my castle.”</p><p>Anna, perplexed, stared out where he appeared to be gesturing. She only saw the moon shining, the rainstorm having cleared up. She took a step closer to the light, glad to leave the shadows. Her slippered feet felt no luxurious carpet or hardwood floor beneath them but rough, solid earth, she felt with a shock. She looked down, then up and all around her wildly.</p><p>Elsa’s room had vanished. Or, perhaps, it was Anna and Pitch who had left the castle. They now stood under an open sky, and before them was a vast, vast land like nothing she had seen in Norway (even though that was admittedly not a lot). The night above covered everything in velvet blackness.</p><p>Anna was feeling calmer now, enough to better take in her new settings. Pitch watched her as she did, saying nothing with faintly curved up lips. She took a cautious step forward. The crystal moon was comfortingly full and bright with stars around it, and yet, the dark seemed as though it meant to absorb all of their light. The moon glow was still enough to see huge shapes in front of her, and as her eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw an enormous maze quite haphazardly built, with a large castle as shiny and black as obsidian in the middle. The castle’s presence was so heavy it felt almost alive to Anna. As she stared at it, the castle seemed to stare right back. Several smaller buildings surrounded it. She even thought she saw a distant forest <em>in</em> the labyrinth.</p><p>            “The Underground Castle beyond the Fearling City,” she murmured, stunned in spite of herself to see it in person.<em> I’m really here. Like the story. </em>“It’s <em>real</em>.”</p><p>            “But further than you think,” a voice purred by her ear, startling her out of her little reverie. “And time <em>is</em> short.” The Nightmare King was directly behind her, face down by her shoulder. She jumped away instinctively. So close, she became more aware of how tall he actually was, even hunched over.</p><p>He twirled his hand and a golden hourglass appeared over it, hovering. Inside it was what looked like a plump little man, shimmering like gold sand. Anna peered more intently and gasped when she saw him come alive and blink at her, as surprised to see her as she was him. He got over it right away and started pounding on the glass, looking frantically at her.</p><p>“Do you like it?” Pitch laughed. “Perhaps a little too <em>obvious</em> a choice of prison for the Sandman, I do get a <em>kick</em> out of it.” His long finger gave the object a hard rap that set it spinning, tossing the poor little figure around and around.</p><p><em>The Sandman? Was he in one of the stories, too?</em> “Don’t do that!” Anna blurted out, wanting to reach out and help the man, but unsure of how Pitch would react if she tried.</p><p>“What did he do?” She wanted to know. And somewhat didn’t.</p><p>Pitch’s face darkened. “He’s gotten in the way.” She didn’t inquire further.</p><p>His features went back into repose. He took the hourglass and, ignoring the dizzied golden man inside, turned it upside down.</p><p>“You have till the stroke of midnight to solve my labyrinth,” he told her, “or your sister will become one of us.” With another wave of his hand, the hourglass and the Sandman in it disappeared.</p><p>“<em>Us?”</em></p><p>Pitch Black nodded before vanishing slowly back into his shadow. “Forever.”</p><p>That part of the story came back to Anna with painful clarity. “But… wait! Can’t you tell me where to start?”</p><p>She heard him sigh. “What a pity,” was all he would say before he was gone entirely, a hint of forlornness in his voice.</p><p>Anna looked about the area to make certain he was gone, then turned back to the mess of stones and hedges before her. Her eyes were much better suited to the dark now, or else it was the stars and moon that were much brighter, or maybe both. It felt very late to her, but it was impossible to tell in a land of eternal night. She wondered how it was even possible for a sky to exist <em>underground,</em> anyway.</p><p>“The labyrinth,” she murmured to herself. “It doesn’t look that far.” She was ready. Born ready. She took off down the hill to enter the black maze, brimming with newfound confidence.</p><p>Which helped her very little as she missed her footing and tumbled down to the bottom like a ragdoll.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Why exactly does Pitch have fairy tales written about him?" I wondered about my own fic. Who knows? Maybe some kid came across him, wasn't afraid, grew up to be a writer who shipped him with their OC the Bright Maiden. I like to think Pitch's book just wasn't a big hit, whereas the Guardians are all in the popular myths and folklore. Maybe people back then in the Pitchannaverse weren't as into Villain x Hero shipping as we are now!</p><p>Also, I took some ideas from the original script for this to make it a little different. I much prefer the final cut to the original, but I do recommend reading the old script! Jareth pretends to be a big writer to mess with Sarah, Toby turns into a literal goblin. It's a fun, weird ride.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Not What They Seem</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Her head spun as she lay trying to get her bearings. The impact left her a little breathless, and she was sure she felt bruises developing in several places. She could only see the stars shining and dancing above her, and a high black wall looming over her. Whoever she had bowled over on her way down was not as disoriented, though. He—it sounded like a man to her—yelled at her unintelligibly and shoved her legs off him. Anna pushed herself onto her side and got back up on her feet, ready to yell right back.</p><p>“—look where you’re going!” It wasn’t a man at all speaking to her, only a lanky, white-haired boy around Anna’s age, dusting off his already grubby trousers with sullenness in his eyes.</p><p>Embarrassed both by her tumble and being seen by a stranger without layers on or her hair up, she felt her face heat, and the irritation from being yelled at by a stranger now brewed afresh with it. She pulled a twig out of her hair and brushed dirt off her nightgown as best she could, busying herself to keep from snapping back at him. She hadn’t meant to fall down that hill, obviously. She felt like stomping over to the boy, turning him around roughly, and tell him maybe <em>he</em> shouldn’t be standing around doing nothing in the middle of the night… but following her emotions hadn’t exactly done her much good today.</p><p>So, instead, she told him, “I’m sorry I crashed into you. I couldn’t see much in the dark, and my foot slipped. I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly.”</p><p>He looked a little surprised by her apology, and looked over her face carefully. Then abruptly turned his back to her and replied shortly, “It’s fine. And it’ll get lighter out soon, so maybe you’ll see where you’re going better.”</p><p>He bent down picking an object up off the ground, and something shining near him caught Anna's eye. A shimmering golden thing like a large firefly, floating around the shrubs and bushes that lined the wall. She approached it, and let out a delighted sound when she saw it was a fairy, gold all over and bright as a star with a sweet little face.</p><p>The boy sprayed it with the object he held like a pistol, making the fairy drop to the ground with a pitiful squeak. "Fifty-seven," he said in satisfaction.</p><p>"What is the <em>matter</em> with you?" Anna demanded, furious. "Stop that!"</p><p>"Why? I have nothing better to do." He moved onto the next fairy. "And you don't want those things around, believe me."</p><p><em>What a monster,</em> she thought, stooping down to delicately pick the pixie up. It looked up at her curiously with iridescent, guileless eyes. "It's just a little—" She cried out, dropping the creature.</p><p>The fairy had rewarded her with a nasty bite. She stuck her finger in her mouth to ease the pain. “It bit me!”</p><p>“They tend to do that,” he admitted. “Were you expecting something else from a dusk fairy?”</p><p>“I..." Her mind went back to her storybooks. "I thought fairies granted wishes, did nice things, helped people.”</p><p>The boy paused for a moment. “Some of them do. Not these flying roaches, which you would have known if you'd listened to me.” He shot down another with particular spite.</p><p>Anna made a sound of disgust. “Well, you’re unpleasant,” she muttered.</p><p>“It’s Jack, actually. Who are you?”</p><p>“Princess Anna of Arendelle.”</p><p>“That’s what I thought.” And went right back to his task.</p><p>He said no more as he worked, making Anna feel awkward. And unsure of what his game was. How would he know who she was? Did he work with Pitch? She looked at him askance. He was a scrawny kid, all limbs. She thought she could take him pretty easily if it came down to it, though she hoped it wouldn't. His face was somewhat handsome, but his coloring was drained, as if he were ill or had been standing out in the cold all night. Was he a magic user, too? A monster in human shape? Did spies spend time spraying fairies for fun?</p><p>Well, who else's help could she ask for? Exasperated at his rudeness though she was, she may as well try him. She couldn’t stand the silence anymore, anyway. So she finally asked, “Can you tell me how to get into the labyrinth, please?”</p><p>"Maybe."</p><p>"Well, where is it?"</p><p>"Trust me, Your Highness,” he told her with an edge of sarcasm in her royal title. “You don't want to know."</p><p>"<em>Yes</em>, I do.” It was an effort to hide her growing impatience. “That's why I'm asking."</p><p>“<em>Fifty-eight</em>… Asking what?”</p><p>“Where the door is!”</p><p>“You mean <em>that</em> door right in front of you?”</p><p>Puzzled, she looked to where he pointed and saw there was indeed a door next to her as he said. A large one, standing like a forbidding sentinel on the wall she'd been positive had no end to it. She eyed it in disbelief. There was no way it had been there a minute ago. She knew it hadn’t. Hadn’t it?</p><p>She went to go open it, then stopped short. “Wait. It’s not <em>that</em> simple, is it?” Something could be waiting on the other side. It might be a trap. It might not even be unlocked.</p><p>“Hey, you’re learning. Why don’t you try it and see?” He was looking more like he enjoyed her company, or more accurately, he enjoyed teasing her.</p><p>Anna refrained from giving an unladylike scoff. “Can’t you ever just give a straight answer?” She didn’t have time for this. She wished Pitch had left the hourglass with her to see how much time she had left. Maybe she could have gotten the little man out, too.</p><p>“Straight questions get straight answers.” Jack tossed the bug sprayer aside to watch her, arms crossed. “You better learn how to ask the right ones, or else you’re not gonna get very far in this place, <em>milady</em>.”</p><p>For a moment they glared at each other like suspicious tomcats, sizing one another up.</p><p>Then, with a defiant toss of her hair, she strode towards the door, giving it a small push. It opened, to her vast relief. She saw more black wall, and under the brightening starlight, she saw it looked slick with rain. She meant to go forward, but her feet wouldn’t move. If she walked into this maze in the land of nightmares, that meant her journey was truly beginning. Now that she was here, she wasn’t so certain she was ready after all. But there was someone important depending on her to.</p><p>“You’re actually gonna go in there, then, huh?” Anna thought she heard some genuine concern in his voice behind her.</p><p>“He took my sister. I don’t have a choice.” <em>And</em> <em>I </em>have<em> to go before I lose my nerve</em>.</p><p>“And you think you can get her out?”</p><p>“I know where she is. Pitch has her in his castle.”</p><p>“Then I’ll give you some advice, free of charge.” He was at her side, face close to hers, amused demeanor gone. “Don’t trust Pitch. And don’t <em>mess</em> with Pitch more than you already have.” His features were calm, but the icy eyes held her gaze with a heavy weight.</p><p>His sudden care was odd. “Thank you, but he’s already made it pretty clear to me that he’s shifty.” Anna had no intention of letting Pitch get any more involved in her life than he was currently, thank you very much. She gave Jack a polite smile and moved past him with determination, forcing her body to relax as she crossed the doorway. <em>The adventure begins</em>, she thought without much enthusiasm. She wasn’t sure about leaving the boy behind. But he seemed to live here, and it didn't seem like he was in danger, so she didn’t worry too much about it.</p><p>She looked around, ensuring there was no threat right, left, above, or below, and exhaled in relief. The grim walls looked the same everywhere: black bricks, mildew, plants growing out between the cracks. A dirt path extended both ways, looking endless. There was no opening in front of her that she could see.</p><p>It gave her the same feeling she’d get as a small child when she needed a glass of water in the middle of the night. If the pitcher on her table was empty, she’d have to creep down to the kitchens, and having to put her feet on the ground in the dark where any number of monsters under her bed might grab her ankles and pull her down had been too much for her. The trepidation had been overwhelming. Some nights she just went thirsty unless she could summon the courage to call Mama or Papa into her room to get her some.</p><p>It was the feeling that something was waiting to jump out at you but wished to toy with you first. The sensing of a threat without knowing what the threat was or if it was just your mind playing tricks on you. And in the cool air, there was a creepy silence pressing around her powerfully.</p><p>“<em>Cozy</em>, isn’t it?”</p><p>Anna stifled a yell of surprise.</p><p>Jack appeared at her elbow, chuckling at her reaction. “You know, I’ve thought of asking Pitch to throw a little welcome mat outside the gate, just to add to the, uh, homey atmosphere.”</p><p>“Very funny.” Anna shuddered. The place was eerie enough without him trying to make her jump out of her skin. “So, does this passageway just go on forever and ever?”</p><p>“’Course not. Just pick a way and go.”</p><p>“But they both look the same.” Equally eerie and shady. Granted, Jack had been right; the stars and moon were giving off more light than ever, and she could see much better. The sky was shifting to a deep twilight blue despite it being late in the night when she left. Did daybreak exist here? Was this as bright as it got? She had no clue how Pitch’s world worked.</p><p>“Well,” he shrugged. “Guess you won’t be getting far.”</p><p>“Which way would you go, then, if you know so much?” she asked, annoyed.</p><p>“Me? I wouldn’t go either way.” He grinned at her.</p><p>“Some guide <em>you</em> are.”</p><p>“I never said I was your guide. You could definitely use one, though. A girl like you won’t last long in this place alone.”</p><p>“If that’s all the help you’re going to be, would you mind leaving?” Anna had had enough. A guide did sound very good to her, but this boy had done little else but make snippy jokes. And she still didn’t know what his angle was.</p><p>“You know what your problem is?” Jack asked her.</p><p>She took no heed of him, looking down the passages again. Maybe up was the answer. She craned her head back, wondering if the walls were too high to try scaling.</p><p>“You take too much for granted,” he informed her. “That’s never smart in the labyrinth. Even if you did get to the center—which you won’t—you wouldn’t be able to find your way back out.”</p><p>Nope, the walls were far too tall for climbing. “That’s only <em>your</em> opinion,” she retorted. She decided she would head down the path to the right. She may as well try the right, anyhow; it was as good a choice as the left. Maybe, like the front gate, an opening would appear when she wasn’t expecting it to.</p><p>“Well, thank you for the company, Jack,” she primly called behind her as she set off. “But I think I can make my own way.”</p><p>“All right, then, milady. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.” His parting words reverberated off the walls in a foreboding way as she padded along the way, the amused tone gone once again. There was a loud, metallic <em>thud</em> behind her, and she turned to see the door shut firmly.</p><p><em>Ready?</em> She could hear Elsa ask as she beamed, about to use her magic for Anna's enjoyment, a thousand years ago before fate had driven them into separate rooms, separate lives.</p><p>
  <em>I am. And I’ll get us home, Elsa. I promise.</em>
</p><p>---</p><p>Elsa jolted awake with a gasp. She must have fallen out of bed onto the floor. She felt ice beneath her, formed from her body spasm. Adrenaline was making her heart race but her mind was still catching up from its rest in the oblivion of unconsciousness. Her body felt stiff as she tried to roll onto her side to get up and back to bed, as if she had been lying there for some time. She could only move gingerly, as though her bones were old.</p><p>She frowned. And the floor beneath her hands… the floor in her bedroom was hardwood with carpets. This felt like stone. Was she dreaming?  It was dark, barely any light coming in through either of the two windows far down the right of the room, and she could hardly see her hand held in front of her face.</p><p>She could almost hear her knees creak as she managed to push herself up and head back to bed, but was promptly yanked to the ground by her wrists. A shout of pain and shock escaped her lips as she hit the hard floor, landing on her hip and elbow and tangling her legs in her coronation cape. As she fell, magic shot from her fingers, covering the whole area around her in thick sheets of snow and ice. She finally saw there was things encasing her hands. She must have been too sleepy to feel them when she awoke.</p><p>Her breathing grew ragged in panic. <em>What is this? Where am I? Where?</em> It was a struggle to think and remain calm at the same time.</p><p>“Conceal, don’t feel. Conceal, don’t feel.” If was all she could think of to do. She was sure her heart would burst if she didn’t slow it down. She whispered the mantra on end to herself manically, and after a few minutes, the panic lessened, though only slightly. She felt her hands locked in gauntlets that were chained to the wall. They were didn't quite feel like real metal. They were too light, which is why she hadn’t noticed it was on her hands before, yet when she banged one against the wall a few times, it made a sturdy <em>clang</em> as metal did and didn’t break.</p><p>These were not the dungeons of Arendelle’s castle, Elsa knew that much. From the way her voice echoed off the walls, it was larger, and the windows were the wrong size and shape. She had been taken somewhere. Her stomach felt sick. She had to get out. She was afraid she would have a heart attack if her terror didn’t subside, and she didn’t want to face whoever had kidnapped her, either. She couldn’t imagine who would go to such lengths when Arendelle had no enemies. She had powers, yes, but that didn't mean she was safe from all danger, especially when she wasn't even sure how far she could push them.</p><p>She felt around for the wall the chains were attached to, and was able to set herself up against it, wincing when she had to use her elbow for support. Holding her hands out before her, she closed her eyes and concentrated. <em>Conceal. Don’t feel. Don’t let it show.</em> There was of course nobody to see, but it made Elsa feel better when she imagined it was her father saying the words. Then, with all her might, she released every bit of magic from every cell in her body on the shackles. Freeing all of the power inside her felt <em>good</em>, better than she had ever dreamed it would, and to channel all that energy-sapping fear into her escape was invigorating in itself.</p><p>The shackles remained on her hands. As she poured out more and more ice, what little confidence she had felt beginning to slip away. She was using so much magic, and she wondered how long it would last. She had never used anything close to this much before in her life. And still the shackles remained firmly over her hands. They were not coming off.</p><p>“No,” she pleaded, her vision blurring with tears. “No. No. I have to get out of here.” If she was locked away, then where was Anna? Imprisoned too? Or worse?</p><p>“’<em>Get out’?”</em></p><p>Elsa shrieked at the sound. Her alarm released one more blast of magic in her shackles, and it was incredibly weak.</p><p>“Why would I let you go?” A low voice from somewhere in front of her asked, laced with mockery. “I was asked to take you, so here you will remain.”</p><p>“Wh… What?” Was all Elsa could get out. She heard a whooshing in her ears and her head felt dizzy.</p><p>The voice—male, she could tell—only laughed unkindly. “Thank you for the fear, by the way. I was hoping there would be more, but it <em>was</em> a filling appetizer.”</p><p>“Who…” She said no more, the dark falling over her eyes like a curtain as she fell to the floor a second time. All she saw was gleaming pointed teeth in a mouth curled up at the corners,  two glowing yellow lights above them, and no more.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Apologies if the chapter seems to drag on! Please leave comments.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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